Detectives warn of Southwest Side store robberies

Police are warning businesses in the Southwest Side’s Chicago Lawn District about a man who’s been robbing small retail stores in recent weeks.

The latest robbery took place about 6:50 p.m. Friday in the 4000 block of West 55th Street, according to an alert from Area Central detectives.

The robber has gone into stores in the afternoon or evening, shown a handgun or implied he had one, and demanded money, police said. The clerks at the small stores targeted have almost all been women, between ages 19 and 59, police said.

The same man is believed to have robbed stores in the 5000 block of South Pulaski Road on Feb. 27 about 6 p.m. and in the 5000 block of South Archer Avenue about 1:20 p.m. on Feb. 12.

Descriptions of the robber vary, but he’s believed to be white, between the ages of 30 and 55, standing 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-11 and weighing between 150 and 180 pounds. In the latest robbery, he was described as being 35 to 40 years old, with brown hair and blue eyes, standing 5-foot-5 to 5-foot-8 and weighing between 150 and 170 pounds. He wore a black skull cap, a black jacket and blue jeans in the most recent robbery.

Anyone with information is asked to call Area Central detectives at 312-747-8380.